Comparison of iron stores in healthy individuals and patients with ischemic heart disease

ABSTRACT

Excess body iron has been linked to atherosclerosis owing to its pro-oxidative properties. However, inconsistent results have emerged from the epidemiological studies linking iron status and the risk of cardiovascular diseases [CVD]. Objective of the present study is to compare iron stores of healthy individuals and patients with ischaemic heart disease [IHD]. A total of 137 subjects were included in the study, 90 patients of IHD and 47 healthy subjects with no history of IHD as controls. We compared body iron stores of patients and controls. Serum ferritin, serum transferrin receptor [sTfR] and sTfR/ferritin ratio were used as measures of body iron stores. Our results revealed that mean serum ferritin concentration of cases was significantly higher than controls. Moreover, mean sTfR and sTfR/ferritin ratio of controls was significantly higher than the patients. We conclude from our results that IHD patients have higher iron stores than healthy subjects suggesting a possible association between high iron stores and the risk of IHD